


Hoping for a Scar

by soprano_buddy15



Category: The Last Kingdom, The Last Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Episode 1, F/M, Season 3, Women comforting Women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24281338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soprano_buddy15/pseuds/soprano_buddy15
Summary: Gisela comforts Ealhswith after Uhtred and Sihtric ride off to battle. Again.
Relationships: Ealhswith/Sihtric (The Last Kingdom), Gisela/Uhtred of Bebbanburg
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	Hoping for a Scar

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This has been bouncing around in my head for a couple of days and I finally got around to writing it! I love the idea of Gisela and Ealhswith being close as wives of warriors, and I hope that you enjoy! I love how cute Sihtric and his wife were at the beginning of season 3, and we were robbed of some good family content in season 4. I am ready to riot. 
> 
> As always, constructive comments are always welcome! Just don't be rude, because nobody wants that.

They were leaving, yet again. 

Ealhswith was tired of the leaving. 

Her son Sihtric was focused on his feet; he did not understand what was happening and was more interested in the patterns he could make with his shoes in the mud. It was always muddy in Winchester, and usually Ealhswith would make more of a fuss at the muddy mess on her son’s clothes. But today, she let him be. 

She hated how excited her husband was when Uhtred had found them and told him to prepare the horses. In just a moment, he had turned from showing their son something, love pure on his face, to being excited about leaving.

She was grateful that Uhtred was paying Sihtric; they were comfortable in the small house in Coccham, as well as the tiny place in Winchester. She hated living at the inn, but she realized that she hated Sihtric leaving even more. 

“They’ll be okay.” Ealhswith looked up as the Lady Gisela came up beside her. She was heavily pregnant, but Ealhswith appreciated her coming out to her. “They always are.”

“I’m so tired of it,” she admitted. “It has always happened.” Her mind went back to when Uhtred had finally given them permission to marry, and then swiftly took Sihtric away just before the Lady Aethelflaed’s wedding. Every time they went away Ealhswith wondered if that would be the last time she saw her husband. Then their son came, and the worry intensified. Now he would not just be leaving her, but their child. It made her admire the Lady Gisela for standing strong with two children, and another on the way.

Gisela nodded. “I am too,” she said, and smiled at Ealhswith. Taking her arm, Gisela led her towards their town house. “Uhtred has a terrible habit of going to battle. I am just as upset at him as you are.”

“Oh, no, Lady,” Ealhswith stammered. “I am not unhappy with the Lord Uhtred, not at all-“

“Please, Ealhswith. We all know that Sihtric would not be riding if not for my husband.” Gisela scooped a cup of warm mead from the pot into a mug and set it on the table, sitting down gingerly. Ealhswith let her son run off with Young Uhtred and Stiorra. She enjoyed the kinship she had with Gisela. Gisela had always accepted her, particularly right after her and Sihtric married and he brought her back to Coccham. She had been well known in Winchester, and felt the judgement of many of the residents of Coccham. 

Ealhswith accepted the mug gratefully. She chose her next words carefully. “I am thankful to your husband for everything he’s done for my husband,” she said. “But I am more upset at how eager Sihtric was to leave.”

Gisela frowned. “What did he say to you?” She asked.

Ealhswith remembered standing in the courtyard, Sihtric explaining something to their son. “'And not before time,’” she said, repeating his answer to Gisela. She chuckled slightly as she remembered hitting him, and his shocked face as he defended himself. It was then that she comprehended the next thing he said. “He also said that he was a warrior.”

Gisela shrugged and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her swollen stomach. “Well,” she said. “He is.”

“But he is also a _father_ ,” she emphasized. “He has other people who depend on him.”

“And is Uhtred not?” 

Ealhswith frowned at Gisela’s perceptiveness. “That is different,” she tried to explain. “He is the Lord of Coccham, and of Bebbanburg.”

“And your husband serves the Lord of Coccham and of Bebbanburg as a warrior.” Gisela leaned forward, her words intense. “Never underestimate how important Sihtric is to Uhtred. He was the one who made sure that Uhtred would find me after he was rescued from the slave ship. Without your husband, I would not have mine.”

Ealhswith was struck by Gisela’s words. She knew that Sihtric had worked unbelievably hard to become a warrior, and it gave him incredible pride to gift her the arm rings that he earned. The joy in his face was obvious when they dressed, slipping them over his arms before heading out each morning. She knew he could not wait for the day to teach their son sword-skill, and for Sihtric to hand him his first arm ring. 

“I am just always worried that he will not come back one day,” she whispered, and the tears started falling. “Every time, there are new scars, new bruises. And every time, I worry that the next scar is going to be his last.” She thought of him coming home, his right eye black and swollen, the fresh wound just underneath red and tender. He had assured her that he would be alright, that he had survived worse, and all that was left was a thin scar. “ _I was cut, and I survived_ ,” he told her after she had voiced her concern at the ever-growing number of scars. “ _A scar is just a reminder of how strong you are. That is all_.”

Gisela’s brow furrowed as she understood Ealhswith’s sorrow. She gently took her hand. “We cannot live in fear, Ealhswith,” she said softly. “Every day is unknown. We could die at any moment. From stepping wrongly, to eating wrongly, to bringing life itself.” Her hand strayed to her swollen stomach. “But we must trust in our husbands. They are strong, and they are smart. You dishonour Sihtric by doubting his strength.” She leaned back and smiled knowingly at the younger woman. “As well, nothing could keep him away from you.”

Ealhswith hiccuped, her sobs slowing down slightly. Gisela’s words resonated with her, and she began remembering his dedication in courting her, his bright face as he told her that Uhtred had given him permission to marry her, his eyes tearing up as he held their son for the first time. 

“He will come back,” she said, whispering. “He must.” The two women sat together and comforted each other, hoping and praying to any and all gods of their husbands safe return, new scars or not.


End file.
